The Sky Litany
by Innocence-millenaire
Summary: Two resolutions meet and fight each other. X27/TYL/OOC/TRANSLATION


This is the translation of my French story "Litania Del Cielo" asked by Orange-y27. Thank you to Sednareinedeseaux for her brilliant correction and "may the odds be ever in your favor". I'm not a native speaker and any advice to improve my translation is more than welcome. Enjoy =)

Litania del Cielo

Night was falling on a disused building with a grim front. The top floor overlooked an unpopulated town, flooded by acid rain. There, at an altitude of sixty meters you could only guess the dislocated red rooftops of the houses made of stone. Those pretty houses that would be praised as the Italy's jewel eroded as easily as a rock trapped by the sea. The pillars usually adorning the front steps seemed to have been pulverized, and the ground was strewn with fragments of statues, a vestige of what might have been the flower of the city. All human life appeared to have deserted the place for ages. Remained only the rubbles as a testimony, albeit time would make them disappear or at least hardly recognizable.

At the dawn of its glory, this little town would have been beautiful and flourishing. Nowadays, even the vegetal beings seemed to have migrated elsewhere. A dead land, almost darken and there was no tree in view. However, far beyond, about 6.2 miles away a forest reflected shadow puppets in the sunset. He wished that sight was enough to settle the shivers running down his spine.

Some time ago a "comrade" promised to show him around one of the most "picturesque" cities in Italy. Picturesque fifty years ago most probably… What a stupid idea to come alone with an acquaintance. Even his hyper intuition had not foretold that. This guy had brought him on the top of the building, saying that the view was amazing.

It was strange that he had not seen the town from the beginning. The whole building hid the mediocrity of the city. Although the building itself gave a hint, he did not even wonder whether he had the right to enter it. He had visited dark places several times before, for the job. Thus he might have let his guard down and he accepted the fact that appearances are deceptive. And to speak the truth it did not matter.

Moreover, they had simply entered an external lift. And therefore, Tsuna was alone in front of that fateful landscape and he was really scared. He had brought nothing with him to call for his subordinates at the Vongola headquarters. He had sworn to forget about the Mafia stuff if only for one single day. Gokudera had troublesomely protested, of course. The teenager now regretted having ignored his right hand man.

He finally decided to move. Inactivity was not the best way to get out of this mess. He came back to the lift at a giant's pace. He pressed the button; the machine was put in motion, its rough wheels vibrated in order to take the cage up. Tsuna had waited for more than two minutes so far, for the machine to reach the eighteenth floor where he stood. It was a wide empty space, painted in grey, with large windows. Some had been smashed but it was hard to tell how. Anyway, the setting was well enough a cause for concern, and Tsuna did not plan to stay long. If he had been played by a mere trick, he was up to ask his "comrade" for a good explanation.

That guy had joined the Vongola side a few years ago as a blabber. Tsuna had not really got close to him but he would often find himself alongside with and several times they ended up together in the headquarters' bar for a drink. The future godfather barely went out for his own benefice. Since he turned 13 he had trained very hard, he even came to Italy at the Ninth's request. Today, as a 16 years-old teen, his sole entertainment was to meet his friends with a drink to "forget" a few moments the tough days of work.

_So, is that lift coming or not…?_

As if to answer his silent and fateful question, the machine chose the second option and came to a standstill with a creaking sound on the seventeenth floor. It was due to a power failure, Tsuna could guess because the light was off. He raved and kicked the lift's metallic door. A useless action but it calmed down a bit. He turned back and sought another exit. He disliked the idea of wandering all over the building on foot. He spotted a small door to the right, across the windows. He headed towards it and the room was so wide that he believed it took him an eternity to reach the door handle.

He opened it and was disappointed not to find a stairwell as he expected. There were definitely stairs, however only for the immediate floor below. So now he had to search the entire building to find an exit? He bit on his cheek not to crack up. He did not know what this place was for, surely it was puzzling. In the absence of electricity, small green lamps acted as a dim light. They were adequate to see where he would set foot, not to feel reassured.

Behind him, Nature took its toll and the sun was already half hidden. He inhaled deeply and went downstairs with caution. Wary, he put one hand on the wall to guide him. It was cold and irregular, several times he thought that he felt odd marks against his palm, but the feeble light did not help to see exactly what it was.

He crossed many corridors that eventually led to another stairs. He repeated this game on each floor, still paying attention to the smallest sound. However, that was more complicated on the tenth floor. What he was seeking was nowhere to be found.

He went round in circles again and again so much that he forgot which corridors he had taken. He did not manage to find his starting point either. He felt overwhelmed. Then he began to run haphazardly to stop thinking. In those cases, your only enemy is yourself.

Finally, the electric current came back; Tsuna hardly had time to come to a halt in front of a very strange thing. A giant seaweed was swimming in a yellowish liquid; the aquatic plant imprisoned in a cylinder made of glass crept along the wall and was even partially built-in. Tsuna stood back a little, that was really weird. He found the strength to take his eyes off it and began to move on the left. He focused on an imaginary spot straight ahead. But along the walls, scary marks quickly caught his hazel look. The same he thought he had touched previously.

He had no idea what it could have been, but something had left deep jags in the concrete. He shook his head and pursued, he was struggling to avoid thinking. He came out onto a dead-end. There, was standing a burnt tree with naked threatening limbs. Some had been severed and were lying on the ground. Tsuna turned white, the duramen, the core of the tree was tainted in red and going down. _The tree… bleeds?_ He got back to running in the opposite direction as fast as he could. Go out, he had to go out in a hurry! He became claustrophobic and had hallucinations on top of that.

He arrived in a new room, and managed to slow down before a filthy window. His mouth was so close to the window-pane that a steam appeared when he breathed. A proof given of the cold weather outside and darkness was total. Tsuna was not sure he could go out now. He did not know what awaited him outside, and did not even bother to ask where he was to that bastard who dragged him into that mess. For sure, he was laughing at him at that moment, at his naivety; kept warm in a bar telling any second class Mafioso how he had dumped the eminent tenth godfather of the Vongola family. He punched the window which cracked over a foot long.

"Oh, ecco uno che sembra molto arrabbiato." argued a feminine voice.

"Conoscete questo ragazzo?" a male voice ventured.

"Non ho mai visto."

Tsuna turned around to face a gang of youths scattered all over the room. Some were sitting, their knees against their chin, others leant nonchalantly against the walls. The girl, who had spoken first scrutinized Tsuna from head to toe, interested in him. She was the only female member of the band, well, at least he thought so, because it was hard to identify the figures huddled up on the ground.

She had platinum blond hair striped with pink locks and maroon eyes full of malice. You needed only a few glimpses to understand they were junkies, proved by their fingers' straightness and the unchecked shaking. Thus, the tenth would bet that they were younger than him. Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice that the fair girl had got dangerously closed to him, to the extent that she had grabbed his chin between her black nails flaken away. The teenager did not stand back but he felt embarrassed.

"Ambra, cosa stai facendo? Non sai niente di questo ragazzo e sei già pronto a baciarlo!" one of the boys got carried away.

"Oh zitto Cosmo! Come ti chiami, bello bruno?"

"Eh… I… Not Italian…" Tsuna mumbled. He did understand Italian but was not really good at speaking, more so when panicked.

"Ah! You're Japanese!" the girl said, amazed. "Irresistible! So, what's your name?"

"Tsuna."

"So cute!"

"Instead of getting excited, ask him what the fuck he's doing here!" said the so-called Cosmo, who liked the newbie less and less.

"Do we tell the boss or take care of him ourselves?" the tallest wondered.

"Eh don't touch him; I want to keep him as my occupation tonight!" Ambra protested.

"Who sent you?" Cosmo cursed, grabbing the collar of Tsuna's sweatshirt.

"I-I was with Doppiezza, I-I think he tricked me so I'm trying to get out of here."

"Doppiezza?" they all cried.

Cosmo let him go with a grumpy sigh. They seemed to watch each other. One of them ran outside. Tsuna deduced that they were probably with it. He really hated this situation; he just wanted to get outta here quickly. And to begin with, he would have preferred if all those faces were fixed on anywhere but him. He thought about running and dropping them, but the only problem with junkies is that they are unpredictable. The best thing to do was to trick them before escaping.

"And… Well, why can you speak my language so well?"

"Our boss can talk both Italian and Japanese, and some other languages as well. Even the Inferiore have to do their best. Squalo demands a lot of us." Ambra answered gently.

"Squalo?"

A resounding "VOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" burst the eardrums of the present people but nobody dared complaining. A young man, androgynous, entered the room. He had tied his silver hair in a ponytail, with two hanged locks on his shoulders. He had a katana by his side in a black sheath. He was wearing a black jumpsuit showing his body's slimness and elegance. However he was older than the other ones. He glared towards the new young man with a bed head, but the brown-haired teen did not get offended, understanding that that was his natural expression.

The scene barely changed, except that a fifth person kept an eye on him. The eldest chose to test the brat to see if he was the one sent by Doppiezza. No sooner had he caught the words that Cosmo pounced on him and punched the poor guy. The Japanese boy went flying; he knocked his head against the glass panel and fell half out on the ground. But the stimulated Italian teen was not satisfied yet. He moved to finish him with a kick in the face but Tsuna warded off rapidly, then he used Cosmo's leg to send the boy flying as well. The Vongola boss jumped on his feet, although a bit groggy, nevertheless he did not take advantage of the weakness of his adversary. Thus the other boy got off the ground, the failure had upset him. As if it was a personal affair. Two more of them came to help their comrade.

Squalo frowned, as a samurai he attached a lot of importance to a one-to-one fight. But this was a special case; he needed to assess the brat's strength. He observed carefully and certified that three against one did not scare the kid. He gave precise and fast blows, was wicked enough to fill in dead angles, like he knew where his assailants would come from. According to Squalo's knowledge, the brat was not a beginner in martial arts, but with his potential, he could improve even further thanks to a rude training.

A cracking in his ear caught his attention and his eyes went wide-opened for a few seconds. He answered ''All right boss'', then he drew his sword. He moved softly towards the children. Tsuna gulped, this was unfair, and he did not have the merest weapon to defend himself. Would he die this way?

Squalo thrust forward, Tsuna tried to slip away but that was too late when he noticed that his adversary followed him and was right behind now. The kid only felt a terrible pain in his nape before his sight got blurred… Squalo picked up his unconscious catch, reminded the gang to secure the fifth floor for the night ahead and left with his burden on one shoulder.

"Did you know that our boss had that kind of tendency?" Ambra asked, disappointed.

Her comrades just shrugged and returned to their business.

(_fear_)

''Please Tsunayoshi…''

Tsuna opened his eyes fully. His sight was still a bit blurred, he closed his eyelids again. Using his other senses, he realized that he was lying on something hairy, and he fantasized about clouds in the sky. As a child, he often told his mother that he would catch one of these cotton masses to make a pillow out of it. He felt his muscles relaxi, no matter where he was, he was feeling good although his nape still hurt a bit. A moment later, he discovered that he was on a wide period bed, in a lavishly decorated room.

He got up with caution, and saw his reflection in a mirror. His left cheek seemed undamaged though he had taken a full blow. There were even traces of blood on his favorite sweatshirt, the one with the number 27 embroidered in black and white. He had gone through uncountable adventures with his friends since his encounter with Reborn, who dragged him in an unknown and dangerous world. Becoming a Mafia Godfather at the age of 13? That was an action game where each Hitman gamer would have plunged already. Not Tsuna. As a 13 years-old teenager he would have preferred to avoid crossing fiction and reality. However, he confessed two years later, there was a paradox in the fact that his pathetic and useless life in Namimori improved greatly when he entered the Vongola family.

When had he begun to like taking risks? Were it Yamamoto's facetious remarks ("so cool, this Mafia game!") and the quarrels with Gokudera, his blackout in front of his sister, Haru and Kyoko's smiles? Or the extreme joviality of Ryohei and Hibari's coldness, the mist around Mukuro and Chrome? Was it because he associated too much with Dino and Reborn? Or even during Lambo's seventh birthday when they were accidentally hurled ten years into the future? In a future that he had liked so much and heartily wanted to experience one day. Could the reason be that his grey and gloomy Sky mutated into opalescent blue where clouds as flawless as silk were gravitating? While he gazed at the sixteen years-old Tsuna he wondered when he had begun to love his lifestyle.

Now the Mafia would allow him to write the most important chapter of his life. Honestly, why did he feel so good in this bedroom? It was unbelievable to think that he was still in the same building full of junkies and a samurai! Doppiezza had spared no detail, he had fallen in a bloody trap and all those guys were his accomplices for sure. But why? If their goal was to kill the heir of the Vongola title, Squalo could have done that from the beginning, which was not difficult. So they did not know who he truly was. Good for him, but stunning. Other mysteries stayed unsolved: the dirty things on the tenth floor, these odd marks on the walls, those many people in that dead town… All of these burst out in one scream:

"Where the fuck am I?" he shouted.

"In my hideout." A mellifluous voice uttered.

Tsuna turned his attention back on a figure in the mirror, half hidden in the shadows. A man sitting on a squat armchair stared at him and his pupils were like two stars in the darkness. Two icy stars, frozen in an arctic orbit close to extinction, such as their master's voice. When the hell did he enter the room? Tsuna thought, on the verge of exploding. Though —despite how hot he felt because of his anger— shivers ran down his spine.

The man stood still while staring at Tsuna intently. He looked back. He showed no fear although he was trembling inside. After a while, the contour of the human figure started to appear subtlety. This guy had a casual air, one of his legs over the other and his hands crossed beneath his chin. He did not make the slightest movement; everything about him was as frozen and penetrating as his look, a living statue, an icy colossus. Eventually his lips moved:

"Nobody dares looking at me this way. Do you want to die?"

"I hope you're enjoying yourself?"

"Yes. What about you? The stranger answered with a carnivorous smile.

"I want this game to stop."

"You're no longer in one of your stupid little Mafia games full of adrenalin. I sent for you to integrate my organization. You've got yourself involved in something far beyond imagination."

"I've heard that so often, I'm not surprised anymore." Tsuna sighed. "In other words I'm captive?"

"As long as I like it, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna hardly managed to gulp. This guy knew his name, and what else? The owner decided to show himself and went ahead in the light. He was tall, confident, he had crimson eyes and his hair was as dark as a solar eclipse. Colored feathers were fixed in it, the same for a raccoon's tail. But Tsuna let himself go being captivated by the scars on his face. Burn marks? A single thing crossed his mind, this man was dangerously handsome. Much more old than him as well, at least ten years. He felt really small, a spark in a huge fire. He stayed petrified while the eldest was still getting close to him, the adolescent lowered his eyes. Obviously that guy loved to inspire fear.

One of his hands came near him and pushed Tsuna gently against the mirror. He smelled his perfume, a typical manly scent. Tsuna looked up to make eye contact with the stranger but he did not expect what happened next. The man clasped the young hands and leant forward to kiss him on the lips. He flushed violently but did not resist at all, lost in the exquisite sensations provoked by this contact. He closed his eyes. Taking advantage of his superiority, the tall man forced his mouth's entrance and the kiss was intensified. Tsuna felt himself becoming hotter and hotter. The older body almost squeezed his own; he did not care anymore whose heart it was that was beating so fast. His partner's scent made him dizzy; he wanted to taste his tanned skin with his tongue.

At last, the dark-haired man broke the kiss and let his lips wander on the teen's chin strap. Tsuna was panting; his whole body was on fire. Suddenly he collected his wits; he used his last forces to kick his captor. The adult released him and Tsuna ran away from this bedroom.

He was once again in the maze. He desperately looked for the lift. Alone, the man did not pursue the deserter. He smiled at his own reflection in the mirror and headed towards the door where he could see the sky's blue color disappear from his view.

"Fool, you were much more safe with me." He grumbled.

He stood by the door, waiting for the right moment to find the brat. Like a stray dog, Tsuna was getting nowhere; he could not find anything apart from new stairs that he took for lack of any better. Just how many of them would he have to walk down before he could feel the fresh air of the outside? He did not have the sense of time anymore. Two floors below, he made a halt, and leant against a wall, totally exhausted. He thought of the kiss, of this a-whirl, of that intense ballet between their tongues and the violent pounding of his heart. He ran a hand through his hair and noticed that he was sweating.

Finally he walked again; he was in pain so he slowed down a bit. All of the sudden, he thought about what he had seen on the tenth floor, and cast furtive glances around. The odd marks were still there. He would have preferred to notice ones on which "uscita" would be written. Three more floors below, the setting changed. Huge pipes followed one another, like long metal snakes chained to the walls. Some gave off a white smoke that conveyed a fantastic atmosphere to the place. Tsuna slackened even more; he believed that he was an actor in the movie "City of Ember" and checked if he had not been followed by a giant mole with a red star nose. He laughed at himself; he was really good at imagining things. Luckily, the human beings were not ready to live underground. He would become mad without a ray of sun.

So, he had to use his brain. He had been caught on the tenth floor but ignored whether he had been moved or not. He had just walked down five floors and this place resembled a cellar, just like in the movie. He would find the plumbing —proved by the pipes—, the electric generator for the power, and maybe the most important for him, an emergency lift. If he followed the pipes he would reach the core of the building for sure: the engine room. That encouraged him; perhaps he was only one floor under the ground floor and as a matter of fact from the exit. He prayed for the electric current not to turn off again. Refilled with hope he ran again right into the blinding smoke.

_(Hide)_

"Master Xanxus…" the above adjusted his earphone to listen to his subordinate: "The fifth floor is perfectly secure but we detected a huge concentration of enemies in the cellar and there is one more thing…" The dark man hated to be hanged about, after he shouted Levi's voice declared: "A human has been trapped". He quickly guessed who it was. He let out a sigh of exasperation and left his retrenchments.

_(Shame)_

"WHAT THE HELL?" Tsuna screamed while running as fast as he could. He had always been afraid of ghosts and monsters! But this time it was beyond belief. That reminded him at 13 years, when he was a no-good Tsuna who was running away at any sound. In this situation —and deprived of his gloves as a matter-of-fact— how else could he possibly escape from the abomination after him? He was surrounded everywhere, more were coming. He continued to run despite the weariness and a painful stitch, until a dead-end got the better of him. Turning back was impossible, for the things were moving slowly towards him. It was a shapeless biped mass, which emitted a sickening smell and had long claws. They split in two and closed in.

Tsuna felt like the easy prey in a bad remake of a film, even though he would have preferred to see the cameras to reassure him. He was determined to fight until the end. Curiously, his last thought was for Ambra, he had noticed that she was not in her place and would have given all she had to be away from here, just like him. She had stayed in retreat during the battle, worried but she did not dare to utter a word. Too much questions were buzzing in Tsuna's head. One monster had got closer and tried to touch him, he responded with blows, but had the feeling to hit jelly. Others came, he exerted himself fighting off. In a final effort he closed his eyes and prepared himself to die.

He heard gun shots, and then he felt as if someone was pulling his arm, this hold was not sticky as expected, but warm and strong. He opened his eyes when he fell on the ground. A voice commanded him to go, that he was glad to do. However when he get out of the dead-end, he stayed in a corner to watch the scene as a deflagration shot up from two guns. He backed up and eloped. He wandered completely lost, sick and apathetic.

It was simply too much for him, even if he was certainly not far from the exit, he did not care. He was as empty as a common fish. A fish's life would be beautiful, no need to worry. He had to swim, eat and be eaten. Being once again a unicellular being and one day becoming a bigger animal, a whale or a killer whale… So maybe he would have the pleasure to eat his former predator. But for the moment he was still weak, a little game fish only good at wading. He splashed everything around him to impress. He lost to fear, a thing that not any person worthy to be called a Godfather could even tolerate.

He felt a hand on his shoulder; he did not even raise his head and followed his savior. On the ground floor he did not escape and entered the lift. Xanxus found this radical change in behavior really strange but remained silent. They went back up to the fourth floor where the dark man had his chamber. However they had place in an office next to the room.

Tsuna sat in a sofa and huddled up, his gaze seemed dull. Xanxus took place in front of him on an armchair. He stared at the young boy; he was aware of his bitterness thanks to the hyper-intuition but was not a good psychiatrist to understand his worries.

The minutes went by, letting place to an oppressive silence, only cut by the noise made by the pendulum of an old clock - a life size metronome - which marked endlessly the time passing by. The hand said three o'clock on the face, the melody was played. Three shorts but percussive sounds that seemed to take Tsuna out of his lethargy little by little. Finally he looked at the adult who was waiting for him to talk.

"W-what were those things?"

The slashed man blinked a moment before answering in a neutral voice:

"Human guinea pigs."

"What?" Tsuna said, horrified. "That was not even human…"

"Not anymore. In the seventies this place had been dedicated to the creation of a special drug. The scientists wanted to realize the perfect dope, without the harmful side effects. All the Mafias interested in that business had financially helped to the project, it was worth a considerable amount of money."

"Did they succeed?"

"Only one scientist managed to stabilize the product, a long time after the outset of the researches. You saw the result of ten years of failure. They had experienced their prototype on everything, the plants, the animals, the human beings."

"So the reason why this town is in ruins is…"

"They had tied the knot. One day they carried out a raid on the village. They locked them all in there. And they drugged them again and again. I don't care why that turned them into muck. My sole preoccupation is the fact that they are still in the building and almost indestructible."

"They can't die?" Tsuna concerned.

"They rot and in the end they deteriorate. I hate being close to them."

"Well… Why did you save me?"

As a reply, Xanxus grinned at him in a mocking way that made Tsuna blushed. The brown head discovered that the older was a receiver of drug, the one created in this town, on the rotten corpses of innocent victims to grease the Mafia's palm. Therefore the dreadful past was still creeping in the very depths of the building, claiming revenge for its imprisoned soul.

The drug baptized "rossa primavera" was still produced massively thanks to the survivor of the city who sold the formula a high price to several mafia families, mainly in Italy. Four years ago, Xanxus and Squalo along with other comrades deserted the Vongola family to enter this business. He hid the merchandise where it was created. Wasn't it the best location since it was uninhabited and supposedly haunted? So often, purchasers fell over each other to obtain the precious elixir.

For that junk was perfect. It made you high without any undesirable sensation. A concentrated solution of happiness that was totally innocuous. After all, wasn't it that mankind was looking for? Trick Death and be happy? Silent tears had been rolling on Tsuna's face throughout this discourse. He ripped them with the back of his hand.

"Why are you doing this?" He hardly articulated.

"… To annoy my father."

Xanxus's gaze was undecipherable and a veil of sadness passed through the adolescent's eyes. He was cold, as if his own blood had stopped circulating in his veins. The Italian man took off his black jacket and put it over the frail shoulders of the Japanese's. Tsuna looked up and read in his eyes ("_I feel hot and you're cold, it's not tenderness_") he nodded to prove that he had understood. That was when he noticed a large bloodstain on the man's right hand. Xanxus had to contain himself in front of the scum's panic, who was fumbling in every corner to find a first aid kit. And no matter how much he complained even when the ugly blood stained wound was exposed, the younger did not listen to him.

"You really piss me off!" He shouted.

"So do you." the teen replied.

"Son of…"

Tsuna knew only one way to shut him up; he gently kissed the eldest and took advantage of his confusion to take care of the wound. Xanxus gave up, suddenly dismounted. Where had he already seen that look so soft, so benevolent? How could Tsuna still treat him so nicely despite what he had just learned? But to speak the truth, he did not know his role in Xanxus's plan yet.

Nevertheless, he was sure that he would never escape again. The hyper-intuition cannot be explained, you feel it and you know what others cannot foretell. And he knew that Tsuna had been blessed with this gift as well, he would be a precious ally. Like him he received the Sky flame. A power that in Tsuna's case he thought it had not been revealed yet. Squalo's entrance got him back in reality and a quick glimpse to the old clock reminded him of a huge transaction tonight. He got up, advised the scum to go sleeping and hedged Squalo without a word.

The subordinate closed the door and the teenager was left alone with his recent thoughts. At that moment he believed he heard this little familiar and irritating voice that always followed him: "_The most important thing Tsuna is not to fall for him_."

"Get lost." He whispered while huddling up even more.

_(Sadness)_

Lost in his thoughts, Xanxus walked towards his appointment with an absent-minded look. Indeed, from an external point of view nobody would have seen any difference. Only Squalo noticed his change of behavior. And he knew it was dangerous – for it was like a volcanic eruption when he would lose it but not the worst thing that could happen – Dangerous because the tonight transaction was with their best purchaser, with whom the atmosphere was already tense. The "_cadaveri_" caused too many trouble.

The creatures, even though they had no conscience, seemed to gather in order to revenge. No more exchange was settled without being armed to the teeth, not so good for the commercial relations. The situation deteriorated progressively. The "cadaveri" wandered until the rot caught them up. None of their guns managed to kill them, no matter how many times they had tried. It had been four years since that threat was upon them, moreover external battles attempting to steal the drug had belittled them.

They could not afford to fail that night. If their boss was weak, all the organization would be in danger. And the Mafia would make a bloodbath to possess the "rossa primavera". Squalo was conscious that Xanxus was playing with fire. Had he to shake him at his own risk? This game had become so serious, even more since the brat's arrival. The swordsman would have bet that he was going to be a lot of troubles. Considering that he could sway their boss's tenacity. He tempted the diplomatic approach by reminding him of their aim. But he only got a "_shut up_" and a look of disdain. The beautiful young man remained silent in spite of his need to say something unpleasant and just followed.

At 3.32 a.m. on the old clock – his sole friend from now on – Tsuna decided to go to bed. He was exhausted. When he took off his sweat-shirt he remembered that it was covered with blood and the viscid substance on the "cadaveri". He grimaced and squeezed in a bathroom that he took at first for a cupboard when he opened the door. He meticulously cleaned off his clothes and hanged them up washing. He was rather proud of him while returning in the bedroom half-naked. He went to bed and fell immediately asleep.

Nothing disturbed him, not even Xanxus's return in the chamber. He stared a few minutes at the brown-haired boy, the innocence in a velvet case. His repressed desire resurfaced to tease him and threatened to make him crack. Tsuna unconsciously let out a contempt sigh like a child in his sweet dreams. The adult gritted his teeth; he wanted to touch him, at all costs. Unable to control himself he left the room.

As Squalo predicted, the transaction went wrong. Not because of the freaks, but by his own fault. Because of his carelessness the partnership had been broken under a shoot-out. Here and there the fallen were uncountable. Members of his organization also bent under the weight of a small silver bullet. Death was not a big deal for Xanxus, neither loss. "_Subordinates are replaceable; I'm not the one responsible of their incapacity to protect their own lives_". Squalo had thrown a punch in his face at the end of the slaughter.

He deserved it. His henchmen were just kids, trained indeed, but who on earth would send children to death without assuming the consequences? He won a bloody battle that night, but a war of gangs was approaching. Soon enough a coalition would attack his fortress. It would be the end. Game over.

The anger tore him apart, but his desire did not let him time to breathe. He had walked for a long time without knowing where, he leaned against a wall, panting.

"Master Xanxus, are you all right?"

It was a young woman's voice, rather pretty. She had auburn hair and a smiling face, as well as the same hazel childish look. Xanxus lost his minds, he pinned the poor girl to the wall and ripped off her clothes.

_(Fight)_

The day after, Tsuna woke up slowly for he liked the blanket's warmth. He stretched his arms a little more but retracted when he felt the coldness on the other side of the bed. In fact, Xanxus did not sleep with him. Strangely, he felt really disappointed.

He got teased by his hyper-intuition about the potential reasons of this absence, he stopped thinking. He ruffled his hair to banish the bad thoughts and got up. He went to the bathroom which was rather clean. The chamber really was a special place. After taking a shower he put on his sweat-shirt and was depressed when he saw that the blood stains had not disappeared. The number 27 was covered in red, a bad alliance with the elegant sky-blue.

He sighed while entering the older's office. The sun had to be high in the sky for the room was filled with light and the Italian torpor. He could record all the details he had missed the eve. The setting was worth praising. Most of the furniture should have been owned by important monarchs once, noteworthy of the curtains made in red velvet. "_It's worthy of a king_", Tsuna marveled at the luxury. But the taste was almost… feminine and he doubted that his turnkey could be the decorator. The office's door flied open on a person who must have felt at ease in this dazzling setting. A stranger, whom fair bangs were hiding his face, came in nonchalantly. He stationed himself in front of Tsuna and flashed a malicious smile. One of those used to trigger mistrust.

"You're the new kid right? You're popular up there. It's the first time our boss is attracted by someone like you. Say, did he fuck you yet?"

Tsuna opened his eyes wide and turned red as a reply.

"Interesting. So there's nothing wrong to scratch you a little…" He smiled while taking out a line of sharp knives. Tsuna did his best to avoid them but was astounded to be banged-up regardless. A hot liquid was flowing down his cheek before he felt the wound of the knife although seeing the utensil spattered with blood in the fair boy's hand. He licked it greedily as he enjoyed the sweet taste.

His opponent burst out laughing but was pushed away by another person all of the sudden. A man with sunglasses and an extravagant look helped Tsuna to get on his feet and kept his hand in his own hand in glove.

"You're the newbie! Glad to meet you, I'm Lussuria. The decorator, lady-help, nurse and professional Hitman. I'm the one taking good care of you my sweet honey!"

"How dare you push a prince?" The other boy spited, he disliked being disturbed in one of his deliriums.

"And that's Belphegor. I'm not sure he can introduce himself properly. Princes you know… Bel why did you hurt him?"

"Mammon is on a mission and I'm bored!"

"Oh my cute boy, I can't let you wearing that disgusting clothes. We must have something that will suit you somewhere. If you're hungry you can join the others on the third floor and then you will begin your training with Squalo. Bel will be your guide since he's bored."

The other muttered though he seemed to comply with because he left the room and waited for Tsuna to follow him. They both walked in silence to the famous lift that the brown-haired boy had searched in vain the eve. Indeed, it was perfectly blended in with the cold setting. Tsuna found this place ideal as a hideout for the experts and a maze for the intruders. Entering the lift he was suddenly aware that it was not the same as before, he had not been paying attention with Xanxus.

He asked Belphegor and understood that there were two lifts. The external one only took you up to the eighteenth floor and back down. The second stopped on all the floors except the top and the cellar. He also learned that cameras surrounded the corridors in order to spot the various enemies wandering into the building. Bel showed him his earphone which allowed him to stay in contact with the important members of the group. The _inferiore_ had not that privilege by contrast.

The third floor's center was meant to be a friendly space composed of a score of wooden tables. The wide windows filled with light reminded him of the eighteenth floor. Bel left Tsuna alone and disappeared quickly. He moved cautiously between the tables' rows and was spotted by Ambra who came to him.

The girl gave him a handkerchief and a plaster to hide his cheek's cut. She invited him to join her table where he received warm embraces from the young guys he fought with. Others that he had ever seen were badly injured and covered with bands.

Noticing his lack of understanding, Ambra told him about the last night battle. The climate in the building became more tense, more alarming. They knew they could die in a stupid Mafia game.

Squalo put an end to their discussion by yelling to go back to train. They dashed off with a smile. Tsuna was astonished by that warm atmosphere. Squalo took him to the twelfth floor. Each floor possessed its own secrets and he finally knew why he just got nowhere. Even if it was outdated, the place shaded concealed doors and sliding walls, presumably to the needs for Xanxus and his organization's guerilla warfare.

He was leaded in a kind of arena where you could admire young men improving their fighting skills. There were two more rooms for shooting practice and arm drills. Tsuna was speechless in front of children of 12 or 13 holding a gun as if they did it their whole life. Mafia was definitely a merciless world.

Although Xanxus had broken off all ties with his family, he reproduced exactly the same model at his own level, a king of small Mafia in a secret place. His subordinates were young and numerous, about 13 and 20 years-old. On the contrary, the older ones were assassins composing the elite. Among them you found Squalo, Levi, Lussuria, Belphegor, Mammon and Xanxus at the top. All that mechanism had worked perfectly for four years… But the Boss' methods were reaching their limits.

His true ambitions had progressively faltered and unveiled indomitable rifts. Perhaps he got tired of his throne or that that game was sinking in mortal boredom. He felt things escaping from his control but he did not know how to break free of his own system. For he could not leave the business without destroying everything, he was too involved in a shady and taboo affair.

However Xanxus was waiting for something with that dangerous game: a reaction. A simple recognition from his father who had denied his succession at the head of the familial empire. He wanted to prove his capacity to rule as a Godfather alone. As well, he desired to make him suffer for his presumption and tarnishing the fame of the most powerful Mafia family. Xanxus's aim was to extend his small organization to become his father's rival.

Unfortunately that had not come off and he was trapped in the role of a receiver of drug, totally dependent of the investments in the drug and his purchasers' financing. He was looking for more, influence, power, and fame. He wanted to be known and admired, feared most of all. He could not accept that his dreams of glory had been smashed by the judgment of a pathetic little ring. In four years his father never tried to stop him, which had made his son's temper even more dreadful and his choices more impulsive, even if it meant monstrous. He kept this heavy resentment locked in his heart, though his behavior clearly reflected his state of mind.

Squalo brought Tsuna at the edge of the arena where stood a magnificent throne, with red velvet and golden ornaments. The adolescent felt a pang when he saw a slumped Xanxus in it, like a decadent king. His hyper-intuition plunged him into the conscience of a troubled man, who kept all his emotions inside of his iron shell, that same ice wall as Tsuna's first impression of him. He heard his husky voice piercing the air like thousands of knives:

"You'll train your body to develop muscles and improve your acuteness."

"And if I say no? He tested.

"I kill you." His eldest uttered, eying him disdainfully.

Tsuna observed with attention the modern gladiator's tournament happening in front of him. He spotted Ambra quickly, with her ever worried look painted on her face.

"Alright but none of your threats convinced me to do it." He replied with a defiance gaze before jumping in the fight zone to rejoin the young girl.

"Train him hard, I want him to be perfect."

"And don't come to interfere. This brat has a bad influence upon you." Squalo said.

"... " Xanxus frowned.


End file.
